Course description: This course will familiarize students with the basic knowledge of geographic information systems (GIS) and their application to social work practice and research. The course is organized around three primary areas: 1) conceptual; 2) technical; and 3) data management. A conceptual overview of GIS is presented to provide students with foundational knowledge about the theory, purpose, function, and applicability of GIS in practice and research settings. Students will develop critical thinking skills necessary to devise research questions appropriate for a GIS, to develop a GIS, interpret the findings, and to evaluate the spatial relationships between variables.
If you created a poster before Spring 2015 and would like to make it openly available (Unrestricted) online, please submit the linked Consent Form to digital@wustl.edu.
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Ranking Worksite Neighborhoods in St. Louis City and County on Park Availability & Active Transportation Infrastructure: Implications for Employee Wellness Interventions
Gabriella Camberos and Robert Fields
12-12-2014There are an estimated 816,672 jobs spread across St. Louis City and County, and 34% are concentrated in just 24 of the 305 total census tracts (CTs). Employed adults spend a large portion of time each week at their jobs, worksite neighborhoods (WNs) may provide optimal settings for promoting physical activity (PA), active transportation, and use of parks. This poster examines worksite neighborhoods with supportive environments for physical activity and recreational park use are targets for employee wellness interventions that can reduce chronic disease risk and enhance mental health.
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The Impact of Race and Insurance Status on Emergency Room Utilization
Genevieve Cheng and Jessica Kirchner
12-12-2014In 2010, approximately 333,000 individuals, or 25% of the St. Louis population, were uninsured or underinsured. Uninsured individuals are twice as likely to report difficulties accessing care than those with private insurance. Nationally, African American patients visit the emergency room (ER) for preventable hospitalizations, for chronic conditions like diabetes, more often than White patients. African Americans are hospitalized an average of 12 years earlier than Whites for diabetes-related preventable hospitalizations. Individuals who have access to and utilize primary care are more likely to avoid hospitalizations or non-emergent ER visits for treatable and preventable conditions. Access to primary care has also shown a reduction in health disparities across race and SES. This poster demonstrates that geographic distributions consistently suggest that African Americans and uninsured/underinsured individuals in St. Louis City and County have higher rates of ER utilization.
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Geographical Accessibility of Senior Centers in New York City
Huanjuan Chen and Zhenhua Qian
12-12-2014Senior centers were documented to have a positive effect on older population’s well-being. This study focuses on the relationship between socio-economic status and geographic access to senior centers in New York City (NYC). There are 2.6 million persons who are 65 and over in New York State in 2010, which increases needs for delivery of services in the community. Senior centers help maintain the independence of older adults in community. However, there is a lack of study of disparities in access to senior centers among low-income minority aging population.
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Social Exclusion among Older Adults in St. Louis: A GIS Analysis
Yu-Chih Chen and Amensissa Edossa
12-12-2014Social exclusion is a dynamic process that describes an individual being fully or partially blocked from various rights, opportunities, or resources Many studies use older adults’ poverty as a proxy to measure social exclusion among older adults Although studies revealed that older adults are more vulnerable to be socially excluded, most studies of social exclusion focus on the children and families; this creates a niche for under-standing the social exclusion among older adults. In addition, most studies focus on the cumulative disadvantages (e.g. poverty) among older adults while recently research showed that the key to help the elderly to be socially included should examine the community factors and barriers For example, senior centers are documented to have a positive effect for older adults while negative community profiles are detrimental to their well-being This study aims to examined the association between social exclusion and community factors among elderly by using GIS approach.
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Social Determinants of Readmissions to BJC HealthCare Hospitals
Yeon Jin Choi and Thuy-Linh Nguyen
12-12-2014This poster shows neighborhood level social determinants of health were explored for its potential relationship with 30-day all-cause readmission among Medicare patients 65 years of age and older who were originally admitted for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), congestive heart failure (CHF), and community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in 2010 at a hospital within the BJC HealthCare network.
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Analysis of Adolescent Pregnancy Hot Spots in Honduras
Kate Clitheroe
5-4-2014This project examines whether adolescent pregnancies in Honduras spatially clustered and where spatial correlation between maternal education, wealth, contraceptive use, access and adolescent pregnancies in Honduras is explored.
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A Spatial Analysis of How Public Investments Target Regional Poverty in Albania
Dauti
12-12-2014This poster explores what regions are more likely to be targeted by public investments. Does targeting vary across types of public investments? Are the poorest regions more likely to be targeted by public investments? How does the relationship between poverty and targeting vary across types of public investments?
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Racial Health Disparities: WIC recipients and Access to Food Sources in St. Louis City, MO
Rachel Davis and Leah Gable
6-30-2014This project aims to identify where WIC stores, agencies, and farmers markets are located and show the relationship between them as well as walkabillity to WIC food sources. The project also seeks to explore correlation between racial or economic disparity to participation and access.
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Reunification Destinations for Casa de Sueños Unaccompanied Undocumented Minors
Lindy Drew
6-30-2014This project examines which U.S. cities Latino unaccompanied undocumented minors go to as their final destination when they leave the Casa de Sueños Willetta group home in Phoenix, AZ.
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Characteristics of Residents in Close Proximity to a Facility in the St. Louis Greater Metropolitan Area
Li Du and Ryan Bell
12-12-2014Ambient air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5) which are emitted from industrial facilities are harmful when inhaled and can be possible contributors to health outcomes such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As of 2008, there were 624 facilities in the St. Louis Greater Metropolitan Area (GMA). This project focuses on facility distribution, associated health outcomes, and socio-economic statuses of residents in the St. Louis Greater Metropolitan Area. The St. Louis GMA is unique because it spans across parts of Missouri and Illinois.
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Recommendations for Kiva Zip Expansion by Target Segmentation of St. Louis
Chelsea Dyer
12-9-2014As a start-up non-profit with limited resources, Kiva Zip seeks to expand their presence nationally through carefully targeted efforts in marketing and fundraising. St. Louis is on a short-list to earn the designation of a Kiva Zip City with the establishment of local support from government leaders and financial donors. In order to gain the necessary momentum to become an official Kiva Zip City, which results in on-the-ground support and matched loans from sponsors, St. Louis must prove itself as a source of successful borrowers. This project asks what areas in St. Louis match the demographic composition of past successful Kiva Zip borrowers, and from this which of these areas has the greatest concentration of minorities?
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Supporting American Indian & Alaska Native Social Work Student Retention through Alumni Mentoring and Native Specific Practicum Sites
Shannon Effler and Kat Stritzl
12-12-2014This presentation asks where are Buder Scholar Alumni and Native specific practicum sites geographically clustered? These sites aim to prepare future American Indian & Alaska Native (AI/AN) social work leaders to practice in tribal and urban settings, making significant contributions to the health, wellness, and the sustained future of Indian Country.
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Buying Patterns of Cheyenne River Indian Reservation’s Businesses and Organizations
Jessica Eiland and Elizabeth Norton
12-12-2014The Four Bands Community Fund, Inc. (Four Bands) has done extensive work in the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation assisting local economic development through business and entrepreneurial education programs. Four Bands’ work has included market analysis to identify goods and services in high demand. This project asks where are local organizations (businesses, non-profits, and religious groups) currently purchasing goods and services? What industries should a local up-start or an existing small business?
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Women, Infants, and Children and Identifying Needed Resources with Geographic Information System Public Health Mapping
Emma K. Epplin
12-12-2014This study will look at the physical location of WIC participants and WIC approved grocery stores in relation to distance, and income at Lincoln County Health Department.
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Double Up Food Bucks in Michigan
Rebecca Epstein, Mengchao Gao, and Sihao Han
12-12-2014Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) was a established in Michigan in 2009 to allow SNAP beneficiaries to have greater access to fresh, local healthy and nutritious foods, while supporting local farmers to grow local economies. This project asks: has the Double Up Food Bucks program improved access to healthy food for SNAP recipients?nHas the Double of Food Bucks program decreased rates of food insecurity? Is this a viable program for to contribute to food aid reform in the United States?